Jim Feist Handicapper Reviews & Picks

The Las Vegas Aces (16-14) will host the Seattle Storm (16-14) on Friday night at the Michelob ULTRA Arena. This is an important late-season matchup between two Western Conference teams who are currently tied and both looking to improve their playoff standing.

The Storm received an upgrade at the trade deadline when the team acquired All-Star guard Brittney Sykes. Sykes will provide the Storm with much needed offensive depth. The guard is a well-known perimeter defender who can also make plays on the offensive end in transition. She should help Seattle create offense alongside its All-Star talent.

Skylar Diggins-Smith leads the Storm’s offense, averaging 17.9 points and 5.8 assists per game. Forward Nneka Ogwumike is one of the best veteran talents in the league and she continues to produce at a high level, averaging 16.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith are one of the most seasoned scoring tandems in the WNBA.

The Aces will aim to protect home court and continue to build momentum going into the postseason. Las Vegas has a 16-14 record this season, but it has played much better at home, where it is 11-5. The Aces lost two of their three matchups with the Storm this season, but they will have a legitimate chance to even the season series tonight.

Aces just a 1-point home favorite here tonight so I will take them on the Money Line and do away with that pointspread all together.

Jim's Play: Las Vegas Aces -1.20 (Money Line)

The NL East 2nd place New York Mets (63-52) travel to Milwaukee to face the red-hot NL Central 1st place Brewers (70-44) at American Family Field. The Brewers are baseball’s hottest team over the last few weeks, as they are currently riding a six-game winning streak and have won 12 of their last 13 contests overall. Pitching, timely hitting, and one of baseball’s most well-rounded rosters have been driving Milwaukee’s success.

The Mets will counter with ace Kodai Senga who has a 7–3 record with a 2.31 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over close to 90 innings pitched this season. Despite pitching well overall, Senga is in need of a bounce-back after his last start. The Brewers will put right-hander Brandon Woodruff on the mound, who has been nearly unhittable since returning from the injured list. Woodruff has a 3–0 record, a stellar 0.64 WHIP, and elite strikeout numbers over 28+ innings this season.

The Mets are hitting .197 and slugging .312 since the start of June, which is among the worst in baseball over that stretch. Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Nimmo are the club’s most important bats, and none of them are heating up at the moment. In comparison, the Brewers have been timely at the plate during their winning streak and appear to have figured things out, which is a plus for Milwaukee considering how good their pitching has been.

This is a matchup of two clubs going in opposite directions. The Brewers have all the momentum, and a great chance to win behind Woodruff on the mound. The Mets have their season in Senga’s hands, who is going to have to dominate for New York to have any chance. Milwaukee is at home, and primed to get out to a strong lead, so this should be a low-scoring, competitive matchup that I see the Brewers taking easily.

Jim's Play: 906. Brewers (NL Game of the Week)

In this matchup between the AL West 1st Place Houston Astros (64-51) and AL East 3rd place New York Yankees (61-54), the first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium. Houston Astros will start Hunter Brown (9-5, 2.47 ERA) on the mound, who has emerged as a breakout star in 2025 and is in serious contention for the AL Cy Young Award. Brown’s pinpoint control and ability to rack up strikeouts have made him one of the most reliable arms in the league. The Yankees are expected to start Cam Schlittler (1-2, 4.58 ERA) who is still getting his feet wet at the MLB level and is in his 5th start of the season.

Houston will look to right-handed hitter Jeremy Peña, who is batting .324 and will provide consistent and reliable at-bats in the middle of the order. The Astros have also found some extra pop in the middle of the order by trading for Christian Walker at the trade deadline and Walker is already impacting the team’s run production. The Yankees have Aaron Judge, who has 37 home runs on the season, leading the charge. Judge anchors one of the league’s most formidable lineups and New York will also have a mix of veteran hitters and young talent in the heart of the order that can make any inning go bonkers.

In this matchup the Astros have the big advantage on the mound. Good pitching usually beats good hitting and I look for the Astros Hunter Brown to shut down this Yankees lineup on Friday.

Jim's Play: 913. Astros

Oakland Athletics (51-66) visit the Orioles (52-63) at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Tuesday, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET. This is a battle of last place teams as the A's take the bottom of the AL West and the O's the bottom of the AL East. Jacob Wilson has been one of Oakland’s most productive hitters over their past few games, batting more than .310 to go with Brent Rooker’s 23 home runs and 66 RBIs. The Orioles will try to do whatever they can to build some late-season momentum with better pitching and timely hitting of their own.

Oakland will go with right-hander J.T. Ginn, who has a 2–3 record with a 4.28 ERA in seven starts. Baltimore responds with Tomoyuki Sugano, a righty with an 8–5 record and a 4.42 ERA in 18 starts. Each starter has had moments of success, but neither has been a consistently good pitcher this season. This should be a game where each team’s pitching and bullpen comes into play. Baltimore may have the advantage of playing at home, but Oakland has a lot of pop at the plate, especially with its middle-of-the-order bats.

The A's are coming off a series at Washington where they took two of three games and outscored the Nationals 23-9. That makes Oakland 5-3 over their last eight games and have the ability to win with their big bats. The O's have underperformed all year and I don't see them moving out of that last place spot in the division.

Jim's Play: 915. Athletics

The Phillies (65-49) are in Arlington to take on the Rangers (60-56) in Globe Life Field on Thursday night. Philadelphia owns a 28-28 record away from Citizens Bank Park this season, while Texas has won 36 of 57 games at Globe Life Field.

Cristopher Sanchez is set to start for the Phillies on Thursday. The southpaw has a 10-3 record and a 2.40 ERA on the season and has been mentioned in some early Cy Young ballots in recent weeks. Merrill Kelly, a 9-6, 3.22 ERA right-hander, will be on the mound for Texas and will be making his Rangers home debut on Thursday night.

Kyle Schwarber, who has 40 home runs and 94 RBI on the year, has led the way offensively for Philadelphia. Trea Turner has also been one of the most consistent hitters in the Phillies lineup this year. Corey Seager and Adolis García are the two main run producers for Texas. Seager’s bat has been coming around as of late, and García is one of the best clutch hitters in the league.

This is going to be a close, well-pitched contest under the lights in Arlington. A game this close I like to take the dog since I get back extra bucks. And this dog is at home which helps. Philly is tough but the Rangers should be up to it here on Friday for the upset win.

Jim's Play: 926. Rangers